University of California-Los Angeles Top Questions

Study hard to keep a good grade and invole many activities at highschool will preprare you to be a successful student at college. Talk with college students to figure out the pro and cons of the life at campus so you can choose yourself to live at in or out campus.

Learn to accept who are as a student, friend, and human being. Be comfortable with yourself, and you'll find the perfect crowd to spend wine and cheese or movie nights with. Go for that drive up to San Francisco for the day and forget about the paper due two weeks from now. You work better under a bit of deadline pressure anyway. Don't force yourself to be a morning person; you'll waste more time napping than feeling rejuvenated. Read Vonnegut instead of Eliot. You'll enjoy and appreciate "The Wasteland" more when it's not on a syllabus. Most of all have confidence in your decisions, and stand up for what you want every once in a while. Speaking out about what you believe in doesn't always mean you're being insensitive, and it definitely doesn't mean you're not growing or changing. It gives you a chance to question society, and with each discussion you'll learn more. Having confidence means you'll know when it's better to hold your tongue or stay home for crunch time; when you make a mistake say sorry and move on. Mistakes are human, you are human.

To be honest, College is a lot harder than what they say. It is a lot harder than what you think, but it is fun. It's stressful, but always know that if you put work to it, in the end, everything will be worth it. College is one of the most important years of your life because this is where you transition from staying home with your family to being out in the world. You might not literally be alone, but sometimes it feels that way because of how overwhelming it may feel. Knowing that you have became an adult and came into the real world can be pretty scary. Always keep your head up though. There will be obstacles in your life and if you are determined enough, you will get through them. Always know that in the end, everything is worth it. Through the stress and maybe even homesickness, never forget why you are at college and keep yourself motivated. Never give up faith no matter how bad a situation feels. Good luck and remember, always be happy, that helps you become the person you were set ot be.

I had a child when I was in high school and that made things a little harder for me. I don't regret having my son. I just would have made much more wiser choices. The one good thing I can say about having my kid is that it made me work a little harder. I should have took more time to listen to others advice. I also would have made myself more available to school rather then trying to fit in with others. School is the best thing that anyone could ask for. I just want to be able to have a career instead of a job that I don't like waking up to every morning. I want to be successful and I know I won't be able to do that without a good education. I would give anything to have another chance to get on the right track. So that being said I can't tell my son to do something I have never done. I'm a very young ambitious single mother looking to get ahead in life and I will make it happen by any means. I have a made it this long way.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to enjoy school more and not be so concerned with good grades. Grades are important, but spending time with friends and family and enjoying the close knit community of high school is even more important. I would tell myself not to stress about leaving my family and home because college has too many exciting things to offer to be homesick often.

Dear High School Nickta, Please stop worrying. Stop agonizing over your college applications that you think are not perfect and trust yourself. Enjoy the last moments you have with your high school friends. The times you spend with them seem like no big deal right now, but in just a few months, you will barely see them. You will miss all the times driving in the car, blasting music and singing along, and want to go back to the good times just messing around and doing nothing. Stop worrying about what schools you are going to get in. No need to stay up late in your bed in anticipation for the ominous college letters. Let go and patiently wait because there is nothing left for you to do. You do not need to figure out your future right now because everyone is asking where you are going, what are majoring in, and what your career will be. You have plenty of time and the answers will come to you, so do not give into the pressure of others. Instead, focus on all your accomplishments and realize that everything happens for a reason. Just relax and enjoy your senior year.

"Stop thinking you’re so great!! Turns out the teachers aren’t crazy; they’re actually leading you in the right direction." is what I would desperately urge my senior self to realize if I could. In this first semester of college, I’ve given myself the biggest reality check of my life. Understand, in high school, I was fortunate enough to have an adequate amount of smarts to be able to “breeze” through without much effort. That’s how my mother was, as well as my little sister; we simply don’t need as much instruction as others tend to need. Thanks to the mentality I’ve had virtually my entire life, senior me had the outlook: “I won’t need much effort to make it through college.”…INCORRECT! In reality, I should’ve tried harder then so I could’ve been one of the best of the best, and I certainly need to try harder now in college. I would require the old me to understand before I left that the teachers’ lectures about being “prepared for college” isn't babbling, and if she’d hoped for the faintest inkling of success, “better get ready while you can.”

I would advise myself to never get "slack". The first few semesters may seem easy, I would tell myself, but it only gets harder as you progress. I would warn the high school me to never get too proud about acheivements and accolades. Be satisfied with the progress you make. First and foremost, I would like to tell myself that I can always be proud of myself if I always give my best. I might also tell the younger Kelley to pick someone in my life (such as my parents) and work at making them proud as well. I would like to tell myself to make sure the things I do would honor that person... because sometimes you don't care what happens to yourself. It's good for people to have a hero, someone that inspires them, someone they're accountable to, or just someone that you care for a great deal. I often find now that it is difficult to sacrifice for yourself, but sacrificing for someone you greatly esteem is very satisfying.

I would tell myself to be less afraid and to be open to all the new people I would meet. The friends I would make would go on to be the best I ever had. I'd also tell myself to manage time more effectively and to seek help if I ever needed it in any area. Mostly, I would tell myself to be ready for challenges and to be ready to make those years count because they were the greatest I've experienced. I'd want to tell myself to take everything in and enjoy it but not too much because I'm there to learn and to become a better person. I would tell myself to get more involved in the student life to be a bigger part of the college community and volunteer more.

I would tell myseld to apply yourself and stop slacking off you are way to smart for that. College is a fun but challenging part of life that you will never regret doing.